If Cats Disappeared From The World

One strange occurrence is always followed by another. For example, the postman’s terminal diagnosis led to the appearance of the Devil, which led to his cat starting to talk. As Cabbage nags the postman in a refined voice to get up, Aloha explains that he used magic to cheer the postman up. The postman asks him to remove the spell, but Aloha says it will fade in time. The postman tries to hide under the covers but eventually cedes to Cabbage’s demands for breakfast, and Aloha reminds him that the latest object he has made disappear is clocks.

The postman’s alarm clock and wristwatch have both disappeared, along with the displayed time on the television. He wonders what change might come from the lack of clocks. He feels a little guilty at the thought that his father’s clock-making and repair skills are now obsolete, and his business has presumably closed. Although losing clocks might have a huge impact on the wider world, for someone like him living quietly and alone, the difference is minimal. He asks Aloha why clocks were invented in the first place, and Aloha offers that only humans have a sense of time, trying to use arbitrary rules to subdivide the passage of days and impose meaning on the ineffable.